Resumo

Cooling tower as a heat exchanger has a wide range of application in different industries. A proper selection of a cooling tower can save the system from energy and water losses. This heat and mass transfer totally depends on the relationship between water and air under varying atmospheric conditions. The idea of expressing and modeling the system behavior over considerable time is called dynamic modeling. It helps to understand and calculate all the crucial factors in order to have better selection of a cooling tower. This paper proposes the idea of effectively modeling the existing cooling tower by studying various factors including the thermal capability, water losses, water consumption, power consumption, and efficiency of the cooling tower. It also measures, records and shows studies related to various wide range of performance-affecting parameters such as range, approach, cooling tower effectiveness, evaporation loss, blow down, cycles of concentration, liquid/gas ratio, heat load, and make-up water. The validated and developed model could pave the way for industries to determine whether installing a VFD can save energy and water for their applications, and quantify the savings and return on investments. The various components of cooling tower such as the frame and casing, fill, cold water basin, drift eliminators, air inlet, louvers, nozzles, and fans are seen to have considerable effect on the performance too. The efficiency of the existing cooling tower, water consumption including evaporation losses and blow down, thermal capability calculation, and the potential to save more in water and energy will be analyzed and discussed in this paper. The development of the model, field data collection, and model verification and validation have been done with reference to an industrial induced draft cooling tower in Cookeville, TN.